Device for attaching fronts to electrical cabinets



July 28, 1953 H. M. STIEGLITZ DEVICE FOR ATTACHING FRONTS TO ELECTRICAL CABINETS Filed Feb. 14, 1952 I [III llllll I J a MJM Patented July 28, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE 2547,004 DEVICE FOR ATTACHINGFRONTSQTG ELECTRICAL CABINET-S Henry MfStieglitz f'St; touisfiud,fass noi t FrankAdam Ele ctric1Company,"St: L0u'is;'Mo.; a corporation of Missouri Application February 14, 1952; Serial No. 271,498

6 Claims. (01. zsa-zsavsy This invention ""rel'ates generall to panel boardsfswitch boards, and electric switch e'nclosures, and particularly to the connectionpf fronts on such devices of the type which are usually recessedwithin the walls of a building.

In U. S. Patent 1,915,509, there is disclosed an arrangementior facilitating the connection of fronts topanel boards,'switch boards, and other similar cabinets. As pointedout in said patent, the cabinet orbox containing-the desired electrical equipment is ordinarily mounted in the building prior to the plastering operation. After the plastering operation is completed, and at the time the trim is-being applied within the struc-' ture, the permanent front is applied to the panel board or the like. board becomes apart-of the't-rim of the building, it is impractical to apply it before the plastering operation is comp eted; In the mounting of the panel board 'or" the'like' within the builiding as well as during thesubsequent plastering and Since the front of the panel other construction loperationsfthe cabinet be subjected "to abuse. 'It'inay" becomedistdrted' or it may get out of plumb or be subjected to other abuses; none of which affect the operability thereof from the electrical standpoint, but which none theless make difficult the application of the front,

or may; unless latitude isallowedi require that the fron't'be permanently connected in a manner which is noticeably outof true For these rea- 3 templatedthe allowance of some 'mo'vement'be-f tween the nut (which received the front secure ing screws and th structure 'of the 'cabinetf" The arrangement 'disclosedtin"saidpatent is satisfactory fon'th purpos'e'eicc'ept that, during of wires and are damaged (deliberatelyor acci dentally) during the process of making the elecg In the latter instances, difiitrical connections. I i n H culties have been encountered in subsequently securing the'front'to the cabinet while the latter is in position withina walland the'front'in position covering the cabinetsothat the nut-was inaccessible.

The object of the present invention; generally stated, is to provide a floatingnut and an anchorage therefor, which may be conveniently applied to a panel-board or the like immediately prior to the'applicati'on of the front, and consequently will not be subject to the abuses afore said.

Another object of the invention is tdsimplify and che'apen the accessories iorconnj ecting edits to cabinets ofthecha'r'acter aforesaid.

Other objects will become apparentfto hese skilled in the art when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in whichi Figure l 'lis a perspective viewers typical board cabinet o'r trough showing the front con- A necting device of the present invention at "one" side thereof; a Figure2 is a view in side elevation of one ofthe,

interior side walls of the cabinet prior to application of the front;

Figurej3 is a sectionalview taken along line 3-3 of Figure-2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view c'orrespondirigto the position of Figure 3, but showing the shine" ture after he. ap li et enef. the 3 l, a

Figure 5 is a perspectiveview of a floating 'nut present inventiorii retainer constructed in accordance with the Figure -6 is a perspective viewl of 'a fioati ngl Figure is a sectionallview corresponding to, a

the'p'o'sition' of Figure '3 but of a different embodi ment; and t v Figures is a sectional view taken along line H! o ei v The present] invention icontemplates generally at ir fl e i 1111?; be 'pra e an 'tained; in position adjacent each 'cut out in usual flange of cabinet or trough for a panelboa'rd or similar device} and 'that-the nut"be' net aite'f in position through the-front and thecueout in the-flanges" of the cabinet"yet" freely fioatable" within "the limits er the cut' o'u'ti" Thus the floating nut and the parts retaihingitin position "are" relieved" 'frorn' the abuses "to which they" might be subject during the process 'of transportation, handling;

and: installation of the cabinet.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings; 'a' section of panel board cabinet of a common type is shown. The cabinet is formed asashetmetal trough having a back 4, side walls 2, andflanges I 3 projecting inwardlyfrom theside walls. The

edges of the flanges '3 areprovided with twoor er c t ts pi i e is recessed; larger than the front-connecting screws intended to project there-through so as to provide a considerable latitude of position for the screws within the cut-out. The structure just described is conventional and per se forms no part of the present invention.

Adjacent each of the cut-outs 4, the side wall 2 of the cabinet is provided with a clip shown in detail inFigure 'T. The clip is a sheet metal stamping having its opposite edges in-turned to provide guide rails 6. The clip is also punched out aobut a tang l which is upset so that it projects out of the plane of the back of the clip as shown clearly in Figure 3. The clip 5 is also cut out to define a tongue 8 arranged to extend through an opening 9 in the side wall 2 and be peened over on the exterior thereof as shown in Figure 3. It is contemplated that the clip 5 be permanently connected with the side walls 2 at the time of manufacture of the cabinet or at least prior to the installation thereof in a building and while the exterior of side walls 2 is still accessible for peening over the tongue 8. Of course, the clip 5 may if desired be secured to the side walls 2 by welding or otherwise.

There is also provided a bracket I I having an angular part I2 proportioned to be slidably received within the race-way defined'by rails 6 of clip 5; and an angular part I3 arranged to extend parallel with flange 4 when the bracket is in final position. The angular part I3 has an aperture I4 preferably at least as large in area as the cutouts].

There is also provided a floating nut I5 consisting of a short strip of sheet metal having a central internally threaded hole I6. The metal about hole It is upset as shown at IT to provide a boss projecting out of the plane of the face of nut I5.

When the panel board has been installed and the front is ready to be applied, the bracket I I is inserted in the lower end of clip 5 and moved upwardly therein until tang I engages within hole I8. In this position (shown in dotted lines in Figure 4) the floating nut I5 is laid on the upper surface of part I 3 with boss I'I extending into hole I4. It will be observed that the boss I! is substantially smaller in diameter than the hole I4 and consequently a considerable latitude of movement between those parts is made possible without necessitating that the one be separated from the other. With the nut I 5 thus disposed above part I3 of bracket II, the latter is moved upwardly in its race-way until the upper face of nut I5 makes contact with the lower face of flange 3. As this position is reached, tang I springs into engagement with the upper edge of recess I9 in bracket I I, thu securing the bracket against removal from this position. With the bracket in this position, and the boss I! of the nut extending into aperture I4 (or for that matter into cut-out 4), the nut cannot escape but is nonetheless freely fioatable within the limits defined by aperture I4. When the parts are in this position, front 2| is placed in appropriate position and screw 22 inserted through a hole provided in the front. The front may be maneuvered until screw 22 can be engaged with the threaded part of nut I5. Other screws, as for example at the four corners of the front, may then be similarly inserted. In view of the latitude of movement provided by the floating nuts, the front 2| may be readily maneuvered until all screws are engaged with their corresponding nuts. Finally, the front 2| is trued with reference to the interior of the building, and all of screws 22 tightened down to retain the front in final position.

In cases where the flanges 3 are relatively narrow and the angular part I3 of bracket I I extends substantially beyond the edge of the flanges, it is desirable that the bracket be provided with an in-turned lip 23, extending in parallel paced relationship to part I3 and substantially in the plane of flange 3 when the bracket is in final position. The lip 23 thus prevents the escape of nut I 5 beyond the edge of flange 3.

Instead of providing the race-way for the reception of bracket II as a separate element, the side walls 2 may be stamped out to provide the race-Way and retaining catch as shown in Figures 8 and 9. In this form the side wall 2 is slit at 24 and 25 to provide a three-sided severance about each of tongues 26 which are then upset inwardly to provide the equivalent of rails 6 in the previous embodiment. Likewise, a cut-out is provided in the side walls 2 to define a tang 21 equivalent to tang I of the previous embodiment. As a further alternative, a suitable race-way and retaining catch may be mounted on the inner side of flange 3 or an equivalent of angular part I3 on bracket II may be secured beneath flange 3 after the cabinet is installed, as the flange is at that time still accessible for the reception and securing of rivets, screws, or tongues.

From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art should readily understand the construction and operation of the invention and realize that it accomplishes its purpose. While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail, and some alternatives suggested, it is not to be understood that the invention is limited to the details of the foregoing disclosure, but on the contrary it is realized that those skilled in the art may readily modify and adapt the device to particular situations without departing from the spirit of this invention and such modifications and variations are therefore contemplated, as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, what is clalmed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with an electrical cabinet having a flange for attachment of a front, said flange having a cut-out therein for the accommodation of front attachment screws with substantial latitude of variation in position, the combination of means fixedly secured to said cabinet having a part disposed in parallel spaced relationship with said flange adjacent said cut-out, said part having an aperture aligned with said cut-out, and a free floating nut disposed between said part and said flange, said nut having a promotion extending into said aperture.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means has a snap-on connection with said cabine 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means has a lip extending substantially in the plane of said flange in the same spaced relationship as said flange with said part.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said cabinet has a guideway for slidably receiving said means, and a catch for locking said means in position.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said catch engages said means at a recess in one end of said means, and the other end of said means has a lip proportioned correspondingly to said 5 recess, said lip being bent back into parallel spaced relationship with said part.

6. The combination with an electrical cabinet having a flange for attachment of a front, said flange having a cut-out therein for the accommodation of front attachment screws with substantial latitude of variation in position, the combination of parallel guide rails on the side wall of said cabinet adjacent said flange, an angular bracket having one part slidably received between said rails and another part extending parallel with said flange, a catch for locking said bracket in position between said rails with said second part thereof near said flange, a floating nut between said second part and said flange, and means for retaining said nut in position.

HENRY M. STIEGLITZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,429,350 Ihri Sept. 19, 1922 1,528,473 Edwards Mar. 3, 1925 

